Talking Debian Install Not Talking

[Luke Davis]

Good Evening:

I should have known: nothing is ever as easy as you think it will be.

I made the boot disks for a talking Debian Woody install.

After a lot of reading of the Debian docs (there is very nearly nothing in
the way of speakup docs on the subject) for installations, I figured out
that you have to boot from the non-aptly-named "rescue floppy".

(Note that I plan to write a how-to on all of this, once I figure out how
to do it.)

I thus booted the rescue floppy.  At the point where nothing was
happening, and I thus assumed I was at the expected "boot:" prompt, I
typed "linux dectlk".  As best as I could tell from Debian: the default
kernel was "linux".  From the only speakup doc I found that discussed
setting the speech output device, all I could determine was that you had
to give the kernel a boot parameter, specifying the speech device, and
that for the DEC Express, it was "dectlk".  Nothing about specifying a
port, or anything of that sort, so I guess there is a probe system.

Anyway, I type "linux dectlk", press enter, and a lot of disk activity
begins, sounding much like a kernel boot process.  No speech yet.

After this all stops, what vision I have, tells me that there is a lot of
text on screen.  I wait a while, then pull the "rescue" disk, and insert
the root disk.

I pressed enter, and nothing at all seemed to happen.
I did so again, and after receiving no action of any sort, I rebooted, and
am here contacting you all.

Does anyone have any idea how I am supposed to get a DECTalk talking, with
a Debian -> Speakup install?

So much for getting it done tonight, I suppose.

Thanks in advance.

Luke